Interpublic profits drop 3.1% to $105.5m

By Daniel Farey-Jones, campaignlive.co.uk, Friday, 27 July 2012 12:30PM

Interpublic (IPG), the world's fourth largest advertising group, has become the first of the big four to reveal a drop in second quarter profits.

Michael Roth: chairman and chief executive of Interpublic

IPG yesterday unveiled a 3.1% year-on-year drop in second quarter net income to $105.5m (£67m).

Its figures follow better results from Omnicom, with net income up 2%, and Publicis Groupe, with pre-tax profits up 19.6%. WPP is set to report its second quarter results in August.

IPG, which owns McCann Erickson and DraftFCB as well as media networks Universal McCann and Initiative, was hit by a 3.7% decline in revenue in its home turf of the United States to $950.8m.

International revenues rose 1.6% to $764.8m, but overall revenues fell 1.4% to $1.72bn.

Michael Roth, chairman and chief executive of Interpublic, said: "The global economic situation remains uncertain, which will require vigilance.

"We are nonetheless targeting stronger growth in the second half, in order to achieve our full year 2012 objective of 3% organic revenue growth."

The group’s second quarter organic revenue growth was 0.8%.

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk